PETALING JAYA: Singaporean survivors of the Batang Kali landslide have urged the government and relevant authorities to release a full report more than three months after the tragedy.
One survivor, Toni Wong, said she wished for transparency and accountability from the authorities when it came to the investigations.
“Shouldn’t they come forward to the victims and say ‘This is the result of the investigations’? We don’t know who is in charge of channelling the information to us.
“We want accountability and action from the government. It is not fair for us to be kept in the dark,” she told Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
The early morning incident on Dec 16 claimed the lives of 31 people, including 13 children.
Another 61 trapped in the landslide were pulled out to safety during the search-and-rescue operation at the Father’s Organic Farm campsite.
Preliminary findings by the works ministry showed that tension cracks that stretched along the road running above the hill slope and the accumulation of underground water beneath the campsite had likely caused the landslide.
Another survivor, Brian Teng, said his family members continue to have a phobia of camping following the incident.
Teng had been camping with his mother and nine-year-old daughter along with six friends, all of whom escaped unharmed.
He said he and Wong had written a letter to Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari requesting the report on the incident but had yet to receive a response.
“Nobody seems to be talking about the incident anymore. Those involved in the incident deserve to know what happened. So many lives have been lost and many assets unrecoverable,” he was quoted as saying.
Yesterday, the families of the victims urged the government to release the full report on the tragedy as soon as possible.
Environmentalists and activists have also urged Putrajaya to reveal the measures that would be taken to prevent such disasters from happening again.
Amirudin had said on Feb 26 the state government was ready to release the full report if family members of the victims applied for it.
He said the report was prepared by the minerals and geoscience department.